Sporterized Enfield MK1 No3 - Question

FTR = Factory Thorough Repair

Armory overhaul sometime in it's past. I would scope that sweetheart and have some fun shooting it.

The barrel is Australian---the seven-pointed stars with "A" inside them and "I", "II","III", etc. beneath, are Aussie inspector's marks.
The "28473" is in an Aussie font, but the serial number has been struck over another number on the receiver ring---can you read it at all?
The ground area containing "FTR" shows evidence of an earlier Australian inventory number and a line out from when it was cancelled. (This is too complicated to explain here.)
So, likely a rifle supplied to Australia by Britain as replacement for Lithgow rifles sent to the UK early in WW1 and lost.
Anything on the left side of the receiver ring? Barrel? Might be a two digit date on the barrel.
The rear sight base was silver soldered in place, which is why your barrel is a different color where the base used to be.
Here's one with intact marks---



-----krinko

they will grow on you, these are the last six i bought eastbank.

My Lee Enfield rifle's receiver has a FTR 1953 marking that was explained to me as meaning Factory Thorough Repair in 1953, just before being placed in military reserve and ultimately sold on the surplus market when no longer needed.

UPDT: I missed that DougW caught FTR in post #4 (but, then, that means FTR has been confirmed independently)

josmund said:

Thanks Robert.

It would have taken a month of research to learn what you have in your head. I originally bought the gun because it was sporterized and I could scope it. Now that I've researched the weapon, I respect and want an original.

I now see the sadness of destroying a piece of history. My education continues.

They are pretty cool and to think this has been around for nearly a hundred years adds to the mystique. The stories it could tell?

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Lots of openion on this sport versions of military rifles is part of there history embrace it. Pure military is also great
Guess I am on both sides of the fence

^There is a long, long tradition of civilian use of sporterized military Lee Enfields in Canada, Australia and the USA that is almost as fascinating to me as the military history.

josmund said:

... I now see the sadness of destroying a piece of history. ...

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I have seen a few sporterized milsurps that are bordering on being true works of art.

Even with those rare examples, while I am marveling at the craftmanship I feel an underlying sense of sadness for the original rifle ... but that's just me.

I am not a real Purist, but I much prefer these old military rifles in their original configurations.

I still have 2 N°3s, 8 N°4s and 1 N°5 ... and a comfortable stockpile of both HXP and R1M3 ball ammo (and a LOT of old MkVII for plinking). Yes, I am a Fan of the Enfields ... and their histories.

I hope that you manage to get that fine old rifle scoped and have wonderful experiences using it!

here are a few more, i still have a few more to check over and clean up. eastbank.

If you have trouble feeding ammo, sometimes it helps to have an auxiliary mag spring. Beware of the too loose safety as it won't stay in place--easy and cheap fix though. One last thing, wartime SMLE's often vary widely on boresize so don't be surprised if your bore is oversized. Flatbased fmj bullets work a bit better in that case or better yet cast to your bore's specifications and handload for maximum accuracy. Good luck, they are addicting.

Eastbank, has your family sat down with you and attempted an intervention?

yes, but it backfired and now they are hooked and i have become their dealer. they now crave milsurp rifles and i let them look and some times touch them. but with white gloves on. eastbank.

Well good for you and good for them. Nice collection